VillainsGin

My first cruise is not until Jan, 2020 but I've been telling all my friends and family about how excited I was. I don't know if all can relate to this but I've got this one weird/crazy uncle (I feel like everyone has at least 1 haha) and he says " you should be careful and check to see if the cruise will be passing the bermuda triangle since you're sailing out of florida towards it. It's a uncessary risk, lots of boats and planes goes missing without a trace" Given the fact I know hes weird/crazy I tried to look at the logical standpoint and tell him im sure there's a perfectly good explanation for all the missing vessels and aircraft, we just haven't found it. And I know for a fact commercial airlines fly through there all the time and made it back safely, airlines are not going to actively make a huge reroute or detour based off superstitions. What are your thoughts and does sailing through the bermuda triangle raise any questions or concerns for you? Better yet who has had a sailing itinerary that ran through the bermuda triangle and made it back haha

Still waiting for my first cruise in Jan, 2020 but chair hoggers are universal . Here's my method: I base the chair I want off the level of commitment the mystery person left. If I see a default/disposable towel or some sort of article the establishment provides generously (i.e. cups, towels, sandals, etc) I remove it myself in 30 minutes or sooner depending on my mood. If I see personal belongings on the chair that is not provided by the establishment in question I give them 45-60 minutes. If they have not even checked back in with their chair within that time limit I have staff remove their stuff. What they leave on the chair gives me enough information to decide how long I wait. If confronted one of 2 things can happen: Let them know the staff removed their belonging go ask them. Staff removes me off the chair themselves

Also comes with chops embarkation lunch and intercontinental breakfast debarkation no?

new account with no replies back. sounds like a carnival conspirator! Could you go into detail about the food and what it was that made it "okay" Why the entertainment was described as "Billy Butlin" Also what made it feel like a "conveyor belt"?

Was there a price difference to get the real ID and is it mandatory?

I will be sailing on Jan 4th, 2020 so I wonder if this is the season for more appearance of flies. Since most of the comments do see flies during their trip, is the picnic style buffet necessarily safe to eat? I assumed flies would be crawling and doing ungodly things to all the food not covered? Same goes for the cruise since most of the buffets have no lids and kept warm under the heat lamps, wouldn't that encourage flies to lay eggs? If i recall correctly as long as its warm and moist flies will lay their eggs and incubate until maggots within days.?

Are there flies and/or mosquitoes at "perfect day at cococay"? I've seen many of the youtube videos of cococay having all the food out with no covers so I assumed there wouldn't be any insects. Logically I feel like the answer would be yes, there are bugs anywhere you go BUT thinking about it a little more: It's almost impossible for flies and mosquitoes to migrate to a island in the middle of the ocean UNLESS the larvae or eggs were somehow introduced onto the island and they were able to thrive. I've noticed cruise ships have food out and about in the ocean so I assume flies and mosquitoes would not be present on the cruise when sailing in the ocean. Can anyone confirm if there are flies/mosquitoes during the cruise or on cococay?

tbh i was preparing my mental state to pay per item ordered and was just hoping it would be reasonable. this already exceeded my expectations, i guess it helps to have expectations low sometimes haha!

That's not bad at all. I was hoping it would not be a charge per item order. Since it's just a flat rate + gratuity that is such a deal!

When you say charge do you mean just the tip or do they charge per item ordered? I remember reading somewhere that room service was free on symphony of the seas but you just have to tip now? Could you confirm this?

natural selection at work, no sympathy for idiots. they also ruin it for everyone else

Where are you from Chris, your place of residency when you're not on the ship? Does this affect or hinder your ability to have a relationship with your significant other? How does paying rent work for your house/apartment if you're working on a ship for half a year at a time? (Does someone watch your place and belongings?) How do you make it work with your family and friends since you're gone for such a long duration? Once hired by royal caribbean is there job security or can they terminate at will? Thanks in advance!

I've googled their next cruise feature and it states you can even go through your personal TA so they get credit for it. Would I contact my TA or let my TA take care of my nextcruise? I'm curious to how I would provide them all the information for our next cruise if we do not know our sailing dates or cruise yet until after we've decided with the staff on-board. Would I just let me TA know after we made our deposit and booking and pass over the torch?

You have all been amazing! Thank you so much for providing me details in depth for my very first cruise. I don't know how far I would have gotten without royal caribbean blog! I have been using this site for everything and anything involving royal caribbean and it has never let me down! We've already had a "crazy" idea of booking our next cruise and possibly many more while on our first one haha!

Where does one find the eDocs? Do I have to check in again online around 40-45 days out or is there a notification? Through the online website will there be a section provided to obtain luggage tag?

Thanks Ashley! I have no idea this is how you set your dining reservations. I was over here wondering how on earth is everyone else doing it. This is a very peculiar/interesting way to do it. If I set a time and was unable to make it but came earlier or later how would that work? Much appreciated.

I am sailing on Symphony of the Seas (first cruise ever!) and I have officially checked in online . Stalked the countdown timer until it hit the 90 day mark before sailing and checked in. My sail date is Jan 4th, 2020. They only thing I received from the check in was my set sail pass, where they asked me to confirm my documents (used passport book) and my personal information. Aside from that I was not required to do anything else, felt a bit empty or if something was missing. My question is: Where do I get my luggage tags, plane ticket information (booked through RCI), hotel reservation information for the night before embarkation and anything else that is required or needed?

How do you make reservations ahead of time for MDR? I use the cruise planner and I'm sailing on symphony of the seas in Jan 2020. Officially checked in online but it only provided us with our set sail pass nothing else available.

This is great information as well, thank you! Knowing my luck I better make sure I play the odds and cover everything I can on my end.

This was amazing information thank you! I don't have receipts for anything in my luggage and it's extremely hard to prove the value. For example I love watches and put a few in my suit case along with some favorite brands that fit me well. I can't imagine going on a cruise happy without all my personal belongings. Especially when you mentioned most clothes did not fit for your family and you basically have to settle for looking like a gift shop. I will definitely take pictures of everything and I know I purchases travel insurance with my TA at MEI Travels along with my credit card travel insurance.

When you say special request what does that mean? Could I order something off the menu but also isn't so far-fetched? For example if they did not have burger, hotdog, or pasta on the menu could I still tell them exactly how I want it made?

I've been doing my best to get on a diet before my Jan, 2020 sail date. I got about 3 months or so to lose 40 lbs ideally. It would be great for pictures and stuffing my face haha

I'm more concerned about the lost luggage! How does that whole process work? Who reimburses you and where would you find clothes, shoes, accessories, etc before embarkation? I'm sure the clothes you had to buy to recover did not fit or was not ideal to what you had already put so much time in packing? (off-brands or desperate to get clothes in general so it wasn't a favorite brand or fitting) How does one prevent this nightmare from happening? I'm sailing for the first time early Jan, 2020 and this has been the bane of my planning so far since it's always out of your control, or is it?

I am definitely going to try the miami vice/lava flow/mudslide on the cruise and compare it to the ones I've had at vegas!

I believe they prepare and have food staged in large volume that it would be kept warm under the lamps. Which I understand since I can't fathom the logistics of feeding so many people by doing cook to order in MDR. I saw on another thread that you can make a request to have the dish be hot with the server/waiter.